How Long Does it Take Venus to Orbit the Sun

byFraser CainonNovember 4, 2009

Venus orbits closer to the Sun than Earth, and so it takes less time to orbit the Sun. In fact, Venus takes only 224.7 days to orbit the Sun. Compare this with the Earth, which takes 365.25 days to orbit the Sun. This means that a year on Venus lasts only 62% the length of a year on Earth.

Unlike most of the planets in the Solar System, Venus has almost no axial tilt. Furthermore, its orbit is one of the most circular in the Solar System. This adds up to the fact that Venus doesn’t have seasons like the rest of the planet. Instead, the temperature of Venus is always 461° C, at all times, everywhere on the planet. This also occurs because of the thick carbon dioxide atmosphere which traps the heat from the Sun building up global temperatures so hot they could melt lead.

One interesting thing about Venus is that it actually rotates backwards from the rest of the planets. While the other planets turn counter-clockwise on their axis seen from above the northern pole, Venus turns clockwise. It’s as if the planet has been turned completely upside down on its axis. Astronomers aren’t sure why this happens, but it’s possible that Venus was struck by a large planetoid early in its history. Or it might just be through gravitational interactions with the Sun.